The Difference
by blulava
Summary: She used to wait for him everyday after school and he hated it. Now that she isn't there, why dose he feel different?
1. Chapter 1

The last bell of the day rang releasing classes of children running through the halls. A wisp of pink tore through the crowd to the front of the school and settled on a large rock just near the entrance. Bright green eyes scanned the masses in anticipation for a dark-haired boy to come through.

"See you later tonight, Sakura!" Ino yells as she rushes by, dragging her team mates with her. Her platinum blonde hair whips behind her as they begin to jump the rooftops.

"See you at 8!" She shouts back waving her away. Sakura turns back to the school and finally spots her target. Pitch black hair weaves through the few children left behind. He passes her leaning on her rock and says nothing.

"Hey Sasuke!" Her voice rang through his ears annoying him for the 43rd day in a row. Still he ignores her and continues his walk as she tails him. Every day she stands out here in the same place waiting in the same place. Every day she follows him on his walk home until they reach her neighborhood. Even when he began to take the long way home, she still followed for as long as she could.

"How was your day?" Her smile shone brighter than the sun even when he ignored her or shot her a nasty look. After a while, she started talking about her day in that light, breezy voice of hers that annoyed him so much.

"So I was thinking, maybe we can go to Ten Ten's party tonight together?" He suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked straight at her. His dark eyes clashed with her shining emeralds filled with hope. Her pink lips were curved into a smile waiting for his answer. His sigh echoed through her ears.

"I don't think so." He started walking again, faster this time. Sakura took a breath and charged after him.

"Why not? It could be fun." Her voice was gentler this time not wanting to irritate him any further. He stopped and turned to her suddenly grabbing her arms. His firm grip startled her so much that a small whimper escaped her.

"I don't like you. I'm tired of you following me home every day. I'm tired of seeing your face. I'm tired of your infuriating voice. I do not want to hang out with you so leave me alone." She was frozen. His words stung and his fingertips were as cold as his words. He roughly released her and stormed off. She stood there silently in shock. Tears flooded her eyes and her small hands were balled into fists against her chest as she watched him walk away.

"Fine, I was tired of trying anyway. I don't even know why I like you." Her words were a whisper as she wiped her face hastily and went off towards home. She said them, but she knew she didn't mean them. He didn't want her and he made that clear several times. No matter how much she loved him, she didn't want to bother him anymore.

"I'm better than that."

"SAKURA!" Ino was pounding on her front door waiting for the pink haired girl to answer. The sound of heels clicking could be heard on the other side of the door.

"It's about time forehead. Are you almost ready?" The blonde inspected her best friend from head to toe. Her pink hair was up in a messy bun with stray curls framing her face. Her jade eyes shone brighter with the addition of black winged eyeliner and plump lashes. A slight blush had been added to her cheeks with a dark red lip stick to finish off. Her short scarlet dress fit snugly against her toned body. The sweetheart neck line bared her delicate collarbones, which was her favorite feature. To top off the outfit, she wore black heels and a subtle gold ankle bracelet with a rose hanging down the side. Her best friend grinned in satisfaction. She was proud that her girl could finally dress herself properly without help.

"I think I taught you too well. You look hot!" Sakura blushed giggling.

"Oh, I almost forgot to ask. How did it go with Sasuke today? The same?" The pink haired girls face dropped but quickly recovered.

"He said he was tired of seeing me so I don't want to see him either." She angrily shoved her lipstick into her gold clutch and grabbed her keys.

"Great! I've been trying to tell you to stop with him. You deserve so much better than someone who ignores you and doesn't know your worth. We are going to go out tonight, have fun, and get you a real man." Ino playfully tugged on her best friends arms trying to rush her out the door.

"Wait!" Sakura ran to her kitchen. She pulled a bottle and 2 shot glasses from the cupboard and filled them.

"I thought you swore off tequila." A mischievous smirk made its way to the blonde's lips.

"Fuck it." Replied the other as she downed her shot. Ino followed suit, making a sour face when she finished. The pair rushed out the door, making sure to lock it. They linked arms and wandered into the street toward Ten Ten's house.


	2. Chapter 2

The space at Ten Ten's was almost too cramped. Everyone they knew was there chatting and having a good time.

"Sasuke! Aren't you glad you came?" Naruto slung his arm around his friend's neck. The man shrugged and scanned the room. He spotted pink in the kitchen. Sakura stood there giggling with her friends and sipping a cocktail of Temari's making no doubt.

 _"Why is she here? I told her I didn't want to see her and she knew I would be here."_ Sasuke quickly looked away when she turned to look in his direction. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her grin and make her way towards them with her friends. He rolled his eyes, but could not escape his best friends grasp.

"Damn look at Saukra tonight." Kiba's words snapped the raven-haired boys attention back to the girl.

"She's hot!" Roared Kankuro. The dress and make up made her slightly more attractive than usual, but she was acceptable without it. However, Sasuke felt the irritation rising the closer she got, but suddenly she went right and stopped in front of Neji. A weight was lifted from his shoulders when she went the other way.

"I thought she was after you Uchiha? Did she finally give up? Ha ha! Cute girl like that, top of the class, could have anyone she wants. Hell, she can have me." Kiba smirked and made his way towards her.

 _"You can have her."_ Sasuke turned to leave, but faced 2 blondes instead.

"Ino, did you dress Sakura again?" Naruto shouted at the woman.

"Of course not! Do you think I'd make her look this much better than me? She's learning on her own and getting much better." Ino huffed at the lack of attention she was getting from the opposite sex. She knew Sakura had great potential, but hoped it would take her longer to realize it.

"I don't appreciate my teammate wearing such clothing. If she bends over you can see her underwear. Right Sasuke?" Naruto was stomping around in annoyance. The other boy shrugged trying to escape this conversation.

"Yeah if she's even wearing any." The blonde girl rolled her eyes at the boys bizarre reactions. Blue and onyx eyes grew wide at the remark. Their brains were already working a way to save her should it happen.

"What? I taught her everything she knows." An evil grin graced her lips as she walked away from the two.

"What the hell!" Naruto shouted after her.

"I can't believe you Ino!" He shook her fist at her.

"Anyway, I thought she was coming to talk to us. What's up with her? We agreed to meet up here and leave together, we have training to do." He looked over to his quiet companion for an answer. When he refused to speak, blue eyes turned to steel.

"Did you say something shitty to her?" His voice was a hard whisper. Icy blue squinted into his dark irises and searched for an answer.

"What of it?" He shook free of Naruto's grasp and stood firm.

"You know we have to be a team, right? How are we supposed to work if you can't play nice?" It was all too often that the blonde was lecturing him about his relationship with his pink teammate.

"Whatever. Just get her and let's go." Sasuke left without another word. He waited on the steps out front, his breath was visible in the chilly winter air. The village always seems the most peaceful during the cold months.

 _"This is so annoying, why did I have to be teamed up with one of the worst kunoichi in the village. I coul-"_ His thoughts were interrupted by the door opening and closing.

"She's not coming." Naruto aggressively walked past his friend. His mouth was a firm tight frown on his face.

"Why?" No matter how much he disliked her, he needed her to practice with them.

"She left already." A quizzical expression crossed the dark-haired boys face.

"With who?" The questions kept coming out of his mouth without intention.

"Neji." The aggravation bubbling up in Sasuke was troubling.


	3. Chapter 3

It was 2 hours and 26 phone calls later that Sakura joined the boys are the training ground, Neji escorted her personally.

"I'll see you tomorrow Ms. Haruno." Neji's silky voice echoed in her ears.

"Yes, 7 o'clock." She gripped his hand tighter knowing he had to leave.

"Okay, I have to go now." He let her go and turned to the two men staring at them.

"It was good to see you Naruto, Uchiha." He nodded to them respectively and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sakura was left with a dreamy look in her eye which she quickly covered up.

"What the hell Sak! We were supposed to start training 2 hours ago." Even Naruto's loud, annoying voice couldn't bring her down.

"I'm sorry. Neji took me to the Hyuuga gardens and we walked around for a while. He's really sweet, I never thought he would be that way." She bit her lower lip. Her emerald eyes were glowing more radiant than ever.

"Tch, that Hyuuga is just full of himself." Sasuke's icy words tore through her brain. A nasty look made its way to the girl's face.

"Not as much as some people." She glared at the man in front of her.

"I'm going to change really quick." She turned her back on him and wandered into the bushes.

"Let's change too." Naruto drug his friend to the other side of the clearing. The blonde opened a scroll and their bags appeared in an instant. Both boys silently changed behind separate trees. Sasuke could feel the negative energy radiating off Naruto and knew it was his fault he was in a bad mood. However, he couldn't help but blame the pink annoyance for bringing that Neji around.

 _"How dare she bring that Hyuuga around here. He's just as annoying as she is, if not worse. He thinks he's so much better than everyone."_ He angrily shoved his clothes into the pack and left for the clearing.

"What's wrong Sasuke?" Naruto's hand rested on his shoulder, silently asking to turn and face him.

"She shouldn't be hanging out with that douche Neji." His voice was stern, almost frightening.

"Why does it bother you so much? She's 21 years old, she can be with who she wants. We don't need to protect her anymore."

"It doesn't bother me." Bare feet could be heard entering the clearing again. Sakura stood there ready for battle. The team agreed all night training be done in all black clothing to train their eyes as well as their bodies. Sakura wore a black sports bra with shorts. The boys wore black tank tops with shorts. All garments fit snugly to enable free motion and no shoes were allowed.

"How are we doing this today?" Sakura asked pulling her hair back into a tighter bun.

"Let's do 2 on 1." Naruto slipped on a headband to keep stray hairs out of his face.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Sauke sat on a nearby boulder holding out his fist. The other 2 joined him. All three shook their hands together and shot out at the same time.

"All right!" Naruto shouted into the night. Sasuke chose rock while he and Sakura chose paper.

"You're with me Sakura." He pulled her close, sticking his tongue out at the Uchiha left alone.

"Alright, shall we start?" She pulled her gloves from her waist pack. She looked down at the man sitting alone. He was holding his closed hand up to her.

"What is it Sasuke?" He opened his fist revealing 3 bobby pins. She rolled her eyes and took them. Sometimes he would have her pin his bangs back if he felt it would be a hard training day. She hadn't done it in quite a while though.

"Fine, sit still." She walked up behind him and took his hair in her hands. Glossy raven locks flowed in between her fingers giving her a slight tingle in her heart.

 _"Not now Sakura. He said he was tired of you so you don't feel anything about him anymore."_ She pulled the hair back tightly and applied the pins quickly. Her delicate fingers brushed through the rest of his hair again before stepping back.

"Let's get started. Come on Naruto." The pair jumped off into the trees and hid. Sasuke stood and activated his sharingan. He touched his now secured bangs, ensuring she left no hair out of place.

 _"Perfect as always."_ A small smirk broke through. Soon yellow and pink barraged the loner. Naruto came from the right, clones behind him, all roaring.

" _Too eas-"_ A hard punch to the face disturbed his thoughts. Although it was rough, her gloved hands were soft. He flew into a tree, snapping it in 2.

 _"Fuck."_ He wiped the small amount of blood from his lips.

"Way to go Sakura! Your masking had improved so much; I didn't even sense you and I knew you were there!" Naruto pat her head. She grinned up at him, obviously gushing with pride. Sasuke huffed and ran towards her. In an instant, their faces were inches apart. He smirked and plunged his knee into her stomach. Quickly he turned and took out the blond with a light punch to the throat. Both team members crumpled to the ground gasping for air, glaring at the Uchiha.

"No more play time." Sakura charged toward him, her battle cry filling the night.

The trio laid soaked in sweat on the soft grass, their heavy breathing made small clouds in front of them.

"We should get dressed before we get too cold." Sakura sat up with her legs crossed. Naruto did the same and scooted closer to her to keep her warm. Sasuke looked up at them from the spot he laid on the other side of her. Her head laid on his shoulder while they look up at the stars. They have been a team for 8 years now, and they felt more like family than team mates.

"There you guys are." Ino and Kiba came through the entrance of the training ground. The group stood to greet them, only to be stopped midway by bruised ribs, gashes, and sore muscles. Sakura began to heal Naruto first, making his already extraordinary healing process a little fast.

"What's up you guys?" Naruto smiles at the pair.

"We've been looking for you. Or, more truthfully, Kiba has been looking for Sakura." A sly smile came across Ino's face as she pushed him forward. She grabbed the other boys' arms and pulled them away.

"We'll be right over here." The two followed her.

"What does he want with Sakura?" Naruto strained his ears to listen to their conversation while Sasuke was reading their lips with his Sharingan.

"He's going to ask her on a date! Isn't it cute?" She clapped her hands together.

"There sure is a lot of interest in Sakura today." Naruto's voice came out horse with worry.

"Yeah, I told everyone she gave up her chase on this one." She pointed to Sasuke, who glared at her in return.

"Oh.." Naruto bit his lip. He had already fought off so many men interested in his team mate. Now there would be even more since they know she's not interested in anyone anymore. She was like a sister to him, so he felt it was his job to scare away the weirdos.

"I thought she was going out with the Hyuuga." Sasuke chimed in. He too was growing weary of this situation. This meant she would be less available to be his personal physician and training partner.

"Apparently, everyone wants a piece of pinky. I just hope she finds someone, she's been worried about finding a mate for a while now. Maybe that's why she gave up on you so fast, seeing that you're a list cause." She laughed. Sasuke felt a hot feeling bubble inside of him, but pushed it down.

"What do you mean? She's still very young, there's plenty of time for that stuff." A small blush dusted Naruto's cheeks. He was the last one to think of this stuff.

"Yeah, she's young, but she's also a ninja. There is always a chance of losing your life on a mission, especially the missions you three go on. She wants to have a family. Don't you?" Ino left the boys alone still straining to hear the conversations between their girl and the dog boy.

 _"Of course I want a family, I just never thought that much about it. I still haven't chosen the right woman yet either."_ Sasuke's mind was racing with these thoughts, going though every woman he's ever met. Suddenly he snapped his neck up and looked at Sakura. Really **_looked_** at her.

 _"Has it been you all along?"_


	4. Chapter 4

"Do you need something Kiba?" Sakura smiled politely. Kiba was nervous, fidgeting with his hands. He was sweating lightly despite the stinging cold of winter.

"Aren't you cold?" He asked looking at her. She looked down too, she had forgotten she was in her tattered training clothes.

 _"_ _I guess these must be thrown out too."_ She sighed crossing her arms.

"A little." Kiba took off his coat and wrapped it around her. The furriness held his body heat which warmed her quickly.

"Thank you Kiba." She hugged the cloth closer to her.

"Listen Sakura, I wanted to ask you something." Her big green eyes stared at him making him even more anxious.

"What is it? Are you okay?" Her nursing side came rushing through at the thought of her friend being hurt.

"I'm fine, really. I just wanted to know if you're free tomorrow night?" A deep blush crossed his face. He couldn't look her in the eyes out of fright.

"Oh, actually Neji is taking me somewhere tomorrow night." She sounded genuinely sorry. Kiba let out a breath and scratched at his head.

"Oh, okay that's cool. Maybe another time then?" Hope flooded his tense body. She giggles and nodded her head.

"Of course. I should go now. We have school in a few hours and I haven't been to bed yet. I'll see you later!" She handed him his jacket and ran in the direction of her friends.

 _"_ _Damn it."_ A frustrated groan sounded throughout the clearing.

"What did he want Sakura?" Naruto's curiosity was high at this point since he missed most of the conversation talking to Ino.

"He asked me on a date." Naruto handed her one of his extra shirts to cover her on the way home.

"What did you say?" He grew louder the more excited he got.

"I said no. I have plans with Neji and it would be shitty to go on dates with two different guys." The shirt swallowed up her tiny frame. She grabbed her pack and slipped on her shoes.

"So you're serious about Neji?" Sasuke's voice startled her at first. She never expected him to ask about stuff like this.

"Of course Sasuke. He's smart, sweet, talented, he finished his specialty classes early, he's an all-around prodigious shinobi. I think I'm lucky." A smile spread across her face that made the boy a little jealous. They began their walk home, dropping off Sakura first as always.

"Anyway, how are your specialty classes going? This should be our last session." After graduating to jonin, shinobi have the option to enroll in specialty classes that enhance a certain area. Most only choose one, but it is acceptable to take more. Since Naruto is aiming for Hokage, he took all five main courses; genjutsu, ninjutsu, taijutsu, weapons specialist, and summoning.

"I think my brain is turning to mush. I can't fit anything else in there." The blond dreaded waking up in the morning.

"What about you Sasuke?" She turned to her silent friend. He was taking all the same classes as Naruto because he refused to accept the blonde would know more than him.

"Hn." No words were said but she knew he was doing okay.

"Well my classes are great. I've learned a lot more than I expected." The boys rolled their eyes. Anything she was taking was probably mind numbing.

"What are you taking again?" Naruto asked.

"Let's see, I have weapons first thing, then off to taijutsu, medical with Ino and Hinata, ninjutsu with you two, summoning, and genjutsu to finish the day." Naruto looked exhausted just by hearing the list.

"How do you have time?" His blue eyes were spinning trying to figure how she could possibly pass them all.

"I use clones. Whatever they do, read, or learn I get to experience when the jutsu wears off. I can study all six at once." Sasuke looked at her in surprise. He had never thought of using clones for studying.

"Hey Sakura." A sudden solemn tone from the loud mouth blond stopped the trio in their tracks.

"Yeah?" Worry clouded her. Naruto never sounded like this unless something was wrong.

"Ino told us you were worried about getting married and what not." She was taken aback by the statement.

"She did?" Her face turned crimson instantly.

"It's just…" She didn't know how to explain herself to her boys.

"I love being a shinobi, but I've always wanted to have a family and build something with the person I love. I don't know how much longer I will be alive, or how much time my significant other has, but I want to spend as much time together as possible. Who knows when it's my time to go, right?" Naruto smiled and took her hand.

"It's okay, I understand. I'm always here for you." He hugged her and shot Sasuke a look to comfort her too. The Uchiha rolled his eyes and took her other hand. Her words echoed through his head.

 _"_ _Build something with the person I love? I don't even like people."_ His aggravation bubbled.

 _"_ _How am I supposed to rebuild my clan if I can't find a suitable wife? I supposed I would have to love her too for the relationship to work."_ He felt a tugging inside of his hand. Her small fingers were trying to get away from his, but he noticed she kept her other hand in Narutos'. Slightly annoyed, he released her and walked ahead of them.

 _"_ _She's really mad at me. She will still be there tomorrow after classes, I'll apologize then. I don't like people, but I can tolerate her most of the time. She may be the woman I need, or at least she can help me find the one."_ The group finally arrives at the kunoichi's house. It's 3 AM and school starts at 6.

"Thanks for walking me all the way, you didn't have to." She smiles knowing they will anyway. They are used to having to look after her.

"No problem, we'll see you tomorrow." The boys walk away toward their shared apartment. Since they lived alone before, they thought it would be a good idea to move in together to keep a balance.

"Naruto." Sasuke's stern voice pulled his attention.

"I need to talk to you about this 'finding-a-significant-other' business." His face was serious when he said it, but Naruto couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, but I think you threw out the only girl that is suitable for you." He pointed back toward Sakura's illuminated window. Her silhouette could be seen changing her clothes and climbing into bed before the light goes out. Sasuke sighed and turned towards their home.

"I doubt it."

 _"_ _She may be strong, but I highly certain she is not the only suitable candidate."_ Naruto lets out one last laugh and slings his arm around Sauske's neck.

"We will find you someone, buddy."


End file.
